Archiva

ARCHIVA

ISBN CONVERTER

INCLUDED ONLY IN ARCHIVA PLATINUM
(NOT INCLUDED IN PREMIUM)

Archiva ISBN Converter builds Ibidem records out of ISBN numbers. You can type these in, or—more easily—paste them in (even many at a time). You’ll find that there’s probably no easier way to build a database. But what makes Archiva ISBN Converter really shine is coupling it to a barcode scanner, especially one that can operate without being connected to your computer.

Using a scanner with memory opens up a whole new world of possibilities. You can scan—and thus build an Ibidem database from—books:

In your personal library (virtually all books published in the last few decades have barcodes printed
on the back cover)

In a library

In a bookstore

At an academic convention (think how much easier it would be to simply go from booth to booth
scanning in books that interest you, rather than having to pick up the catalogs at each booth)

Regardless of how you proceed, the process is simple:

Go to Tools, Archiva, Convert ISBN Numbers

When the ISBN input box has focus
    • Plug in the barcode scanner, and scan or download previously scanned items
      OR
    • Type or paste in ISBN numbers (either ISBN 10 or 13 format)

Click OK to have Archiva build ful Ibidem records from the ISBN numbers

View the results in the Archiva Scanned/Typed ISBN #’s Search Results database

Make any edits that are required

Select the ones you want to append to your permanent Ibidem database(s)

When building records from ISBN numbers, you can also have the option of typing in any optional text that you want to have added to specific fields. For example, if you are scanning in barcodes while cataloging your personal library, you might want include information regarding location (for example, middle shelf in study), as well as the date (February 2009).

You can add data in up to three fields, of your choosing. The text you specify will either:

Replace any other text that might have been output into that field during the conversion process

Be appended to any data that already exists in that field

Be add only if there is no text already in that field

The Archiva ISBN Converter was designed for use with barcode scanners. It should work with any barcode scanner that (1) can scan in ISBN barcodes, and (2) which does so while functioning as a “keyboard wedge.”

While lots of scanners meet those conditions, the LaserChamp scanner and software bundle represents the best value in the market:

The standard model offers the significant advantage of being able to work in
    remote/batch mode (you can take the almost cell-phone size scanner
    anywhere—to the library, a convention, or to any room of your house),
    capturing up to 4000 scans before plugging it in to dump the captured
    scans

A blue tooth version is available for those who want totally wireless
capability

Unlike most other scanners, it comes with advanced software that prevents
loss of scans if the scanner is plugged in when focus is not in the
Tools, Archiva, Convert ISBN Numbers text box

You can get special Nota-Bene-ready versions of these at:

Standard remote & tethered model

Wireless bluetooth version

Whether you scan barcodes, or paste or type in ISBN numbers, Archiva:

Looks up the ISBN number in the Library of Congress, and produces a proper Ibidem citation

If the ISBN number cannot be located in the Library of Congress (for example, this is often true of
paperback editions), Archiva searches other sites on the web to try to locate the work; it also tries
to find the ISBN number of the hardback edition, which it then looks up in the Library of Congress

If Archiva cannot find any information for the work, it creates a record containing only the ISBN number,
which you can then manually search for on the web, or look up in the library or in Books in Print
• By creating an otherwise blank record, Archive helps insures that no scanned work will be lost

“Such a great leap forward that it amounts to a revolution...”

“I am happy as a neophyte supermarket shelver. Having installed earlier this morning the barcode scanner Nota Bene recommends, I have been running around my house—from study, to living room to bedroom and back—scanning into Ibidem every book I can lay hands on. I may even have scanned a Cheerios box or two.

This new feature is such a great leap forward that it amounts to a revolution—at least for me. It’s certainly a revelation, especially of the time I can save building bibliographies. I've often put off adding books to Ibidem because of the time it took. I'll do that later, I said to myself. And of course ‘later’ frequently never came.

Now I can add a new book in an instant, and without getting distracted from reading and writing. My students will think me a master of my field, when I am in reality just a little old scanner, a Wizard of Oz of the world of books.

Dr. John Talbott ♦ Department of History, University of California Santa Barbara

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